HELPFUL INFORMATION AFTER BEING IN A CAR ACCIDENT AND WORK INJURY

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Social Security Disability Help from Attorney NoyesIn addition to helping those injured in car accidents, motorcycle crashes, workers' compensation claims and other personal injury matters, Matthew Noyes helps the disabled fight to get the SSD benefits from the Social Security Administration.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Big business is being put ahead of the workers of Florida . . . AGAIN. If you don't do anything about it now, the Florida Legislature will pass a law that gives more protection to the workers' compensation carrier than the injured worker.

House Bill 903 and Senate Bill 2072 are flying through the legislature with little opportunity to oppose them. They are both horrible bills for the little guy. They both put insurance companies in front of the people. They both will give an incredible advantage to workers' compensation carriers and make it difficult for the average injured worker to get the workers compensation benefits they are entitled to. In essence, they cap attorneys' fees for the injured worker and do not place a cap on the attorneys' fees for the workers' compensation insurance companies. The Florida Supreme Court already said this was wrong, but they are trying to skate around it.

I fight for people on Florida workers' compensation and I do hear about some of the injustice the carriers have to deal with by attorneys over-litigating the issues and demanding too much in attorneys' fees. But there are two ways to prevent this--trust the workers compensation judges in their decision of what is fair (wouldn't they know more than legislators who don't even know what worker comp is?) and eliminate having to pay attorneys' fees by providing the requested benefits if they are due.

There are enough protection from frivolous claims already in the workers' compensation statute. An injured worker who commits workers comp fraud can go to jail. I support these protections from frivolous workers' compensation claims but cannot support anything that makes the playing field uneven.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Codeine in medicine can help, but it can also increase your chances of being involved in a traffic accident with personal injury, according to a newly published study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Codeine and tramadol are painkillers used for mild to moderate pain. Earlier studies have given conflicting results when evaluating traffic accident risk linked to the use of codeine and tramadol. In this new study from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, the risk of being involved in a road traffic accident with personal injury was twice as high in the period after having a prescription for codeine dispensed. For those who had used more than approximately 400 tablets per year, the risk of being involved in a traffic accident was 3 times as large.

Unfortunately, many people driving on Florida's roads are consuming many things before getting behind the wheel. Sadly, no matter how cautious you may be, you have to share the road with these drivers. Drive safely and be careful for those who don't.

If you or a loved one is injured in a Florida car accident, motorcycle accident, bicycle accident or other personal injury matter, you should talk with an attorney to understand your rights. Remember, insurance companies have lawyers looking out for their best interest--so should you.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Many good people suffer terrible back pain after a car accident or workers comp claim. In fact, back pain is the most common cause of job-related disability and a leading contributor to missed work. Often times, a car accident or workers comp claim can result in a herniated or protruding disc. This disc herniation or disc protrusion can affect every aspect of a person's life. Some doctors think they have found a way to relieve the pain of herniated discs--oxygen/ozone.

Researchers believe that a minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment using oxygen/ozone to relieve the pain of herniated disks will become standard in the United States in the next few years.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Oh no! I may have to learn a whole new line of personal injury law relating to car accidents--accidents involving flying cars! Sounds like science fiction, but it's not.

Recently, a winged car taxied down a New York runway and took off. It flew for 37 seconds and landed further down the runway. In the near future, the company will test the 'car-plane' in a series of longer flights. The photo on this blog is NOT the car that flew.

The street-legal car is powered on land and in the air by an engine that gets 30 mpg on the highway using regular unleaded gasoline. As a plane, its 20-gallon tank gives it a 450-mile range with a 115 mph cruising speed. Pretty cool!! Even cooler is that the pilot can switch from one mode to the other from the driver's seat, simultaneously folding up the wings and shifting the engine power from the rear-mounted propeller to the front wheels in about 30 seconds. Click here to read more about the flying car.

Monday, March 23, 2009

A Palm Harbor woman is dead because of it and most of us do it all the time.

Patricia A. Lattman was driving southbound on U.S. 19 wanting to turn left onto Bilgore Grove Boulevard. Traffic in some lanes of northbound U.S. 19 stopped to allow her to make her turn. Sadly, another vehicle driven by 17-year-old Nicholas Douklias was in the outside lane and didn't see that Ms. Lattman was attempting to turn. As a result, his 2004 Ford Expedition struck the right side of Lattman's car. The impact sent Ms. Lattamn's vehicle into a light pole. Lattman died on the scene.

I go crazy when my wife waves people through lanes of stopped traffic. People are relying on her judgment as they turn. This could expose her to liability if a car accident occurs.

I refuse to try to make a turn when I have to rely on the lack of traffic in lanes I cannot see. It is easier to make a U-turn at the next light and avoid the chance of a car accident.

If you are involved in a car accident because someone improperly waved you through the lanes, you may have a claim against that person or a claim under your uninsured motorist coverage because the "waver" didn't stop.

If you are like my wife and just need to let people make their turns in front of you, simply sit there and give no indication as to whether it is clear for the turning vehicle to proceed. Don't even look at the driver.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of those involved in this car accident. I hope that this car accident reminds us all to drive more safely and be more careful for those who don't.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

A brain injury can result from the simplest event. Sadly, actress Natasha Richardson just died from a brain injury from a relatively small fall while taking skiing lessons. Apparently, she thought she was ok after the fall, but unfortunately, she wasn't. Unfortunately, this happens to many people involved in whiplash-type car accidents as well.

In the United States, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs every 15 seconds. The leading causes of TBI are motor vehicle accidents, falls, and sports injuries. Whiplash seems to be particularly damaging to the brain. Although race car drivers protect their heads from being whiplashed, we everyday drivers don't. Woodpeckers smack their heads against trees with 1200 g's of force without suffering brain damage. Part of the reason is that they keep their heads in the plane of their body; the head does not rotate in a "yes-no" manner during the pecking. If there were some way to stabilize the head when driving, more people would walk away from automobile accidents without serious brain injury.

According to researchers, the brain is vulnerable to traumatic damage in two ways. The cerebral cortex can become bruised - contused - when the head strikes a hard object (or a hard object strikes the head). Or, the deep white matter can suffer diffuse axonal injury when the head is whiplashed without hitting a hard object (or being hit by one). In serious whiplash injuries, the axons are stretched so much that they are damaged.

The brain consists of billions of nerve cells located in the gray matter which communicate with distant nerve cells through long nerve fibers called axons, composing the white matter. Severe sudden twisting or torquing of the brain, as occurs in a sudden acceleration/deceleration - whiplash -- accident, can stretch, twist, and damage these delicate axonal fibers. Because this type of brain trauma causes microscopic damage, it cannot be visualized on CT or MRI scans.

If you or a loved one is involved in a car accident involving a whiplash injury, it is important that you look for signs of a traumatic brain injury. Remember, Natasha Richardson thought she was ok. Symptoms include:

Dizziness.

Loss of balance.

Severe headache.

Slurred speech.

Excessive vomiting.

It is far better to be save then sorry. Get your loved one checked out at a hospital if there is a hint of a traumatic brain injury. Catching it early can save a life!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

"Chiropractors just crack backs; they cannot help me after a car accident." That is what I sometimes hear from my new clients after a car accident. Although it is not as bad as it was several years ago, I think good chiropractors are still not being given the credit they deserve. In many of my client's cases, the chiropractic care was the best thing for them after their car accident.

Most chiropractors are specially trained in the treatment of auto accident injuries. They can address the pain and stiffness associated with a whiplash injury. They know that if the aches and pains experienced after a car accident are not dealt with, the pain may subside but the spinal damage will not heal correctly resulting in stiffness, restricted range of motion, and future pain.

Many chiropractors do not do the "cracking" of the back one thinks about when chiropractic care is discussed. They have various tools to do the aligning of the spine and modalities to correspond with the chiropractic adjustment.

Now, I have to be honest, I have never had a chiropractic adjustment, but my wife and daughter swear by it. Many of my clients also feel that without the chiropractic care they received after their car accident, their pain would be much worse.

Not all chiropractors are the same. It is important that you find a chiropractor who puts your best interest ahead of your case's best interest. The chiropractor should be willing to refer you to specialists such as pain management doctors and neurologist if your symptoms continue. They should also be willing to send you to a surgical consultation if surgery may be needed.

If you are injured in a car accident, you should consider seeking care with a chiropractor. You may be surprised how different chiropractic care really is compared to your perception.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

The green beer. The good friends. Heck, even the odd Irish music--I'm all for celebrating St. Patrick's Day. In fact, St Patrick himself was rumored to agree. Stories are told that St. Patrick was said to have proclaimed that everyone should have a drop of the "hard stuff" on his feast day after chastising an innkeeper who served a short measure of whiskey.

So, after "drowning the shamrock" -- a custom a putting the shamrock that has been worn on a lapel or hat into the last drink of the evening -- remember that even the 4-leaf clover won't save you from a DUI.

Designate a sober driver for yourself. Make sure all of your friends designate their sober drivers in advance as well. Eat lots of food and drink water. Keep the numbers for local cab companies handy, and take the keys away from anyone who is thinking of driving impaired. These things can save your life and the lives of strangers involved in car accidents.

Driving impaired is simply not worth the risk because the consequences are serious and real. Not only do you risk killing yourself or someone else, the trauma and financial costs of a crash or an arrest for impaired driving are significant.

Please act responsibly this St. Patrick's Day. You can save a life and a lifetime of regret by planning ahead. Give your keys to a sober driver before the party begins.

If you or a loved one is injured in a car accident caused by someone who drove impaired on St. Patty's Day, contact Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes. Depending on the facts of the case, other people may be liable for your injuries than just the impaired driver. Remember, insurance companies have attorney looking out for their best interest, so should you!! Attorney Matthew Noyes' personal injury law firm has 5 offices throughout Tampa Bay and has been fighting for your rights since 1955.

Different day, similar story. Another motorcyclist in the Tampa Bay area died yesterday after his Harley-Davidson motorcycle smashed into a Ford Bronco that had driven into his path.

Ernest Dale Best III of Largo died at 113th Street south of 86th Avenue about 9 p.m. when a truck driven by Richard Lee Brown, 45, pulled in front of him, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Mr. Best used his brakes but still crashed and was ejected. The deputies say speed was not a factor in the crash.

The Best family is the latest to mourn the death of a loved one killed in one of the more than a dozen motorcycle deaths in the Tampa Bay area in the last few months. According to the state, about 500 people died statewide last year. Florida ranks highest in the nation for motorcycle fatalities.

If you must ride motorcycles on the city streets, be careful riding the motorcycle. Drivers, keep your eyes out for the motorcycle. A car accident with a motorcycle could end up with another family suffering a loss of a loved one.

Monday, March 16, 2009

The Florida Supreme Court said it was wrong, but Florida big business and the insurance industry just doesn't care.

The workers' compensation carrier has unlimited money to pay their attorneys. The Florida injured worker has a cap on what they can pay their workers' compensation attorney. Once $1,500.00 has been paid to the injured worker's attorney over the life of the case, the workers' compensation carrier would not be responsible for any additional attorneys' fee even if the judge rules that they were wrong in denying benefits. That's what Florida big business and the insurance industry are telling the Florida legislature to make into law despite the Florida Supreme Court ruling that the statutory caps on injured workers' attorney fees was wrong.

Last fall, the Florida Supreme Court ruled in Murray vs. Mariner Health that courts should be allowed to exceed the legislation's rigid fee schedule and award "reasonable fees." In the Murray case, a nursing assistant was injured while helping lift a patient and required surgery. She filed for workers' compensation, which her employer's insurance company denied. She battled the workers' compensation carrier and won. But under the state-imposed fee schedule, her lawyer, who worked 80 hours on the case, was awarded only $648 - or about $8 an hour - from the insurance carrier. In contrast, the workers' compensation carrier paid its attorneys $16,050 - about $125 per hour - for the case. Sound fair to you?

This week, the Florida legislature will be addressing this issue. All we want is fairness on both sides. Let the injured worker be on a level playing field as the insurance company. It's bad enough that the injured worker has to rely on doctors picked by the insurance company. The Judge of Compensation Claims is smart enough to know what reasonable fees are--a lot smarter than the Legislators who most have never had to battle a workers' compensation claim or step foot into a workers' compensation courtroom.